Resort

Mexico,
Acapulco

Introduction

Drug violence in Acapulco ebbs and flows, and though a recent spate has edged down tourism, the line of new hotels and high-rises extending the city's famous twinkling shoreline shows that its renaissance as a glitzy resort is on its way. Stay in an ocean-view suite, have a Margarita at sunset, and you'll see why 1960s Hollywood once viewed Acapulco as the pearl of the Mexican Pacific.

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Essentials

  1. Getting around is relatively painless. Many places are walkable, buses are cheap and taxis are plentiful.
  2. Avoid the crowds in the centre and venture south for daytime swimming.
  3. Stay sharp out on the town; don’t sport your flashiest jewellery.
  4. Don’t miss the decadent charm of Old Acapulco’s 1950s and 1960s architecture.
  5. Do watch the boats roll into the bay as night falls at Las Brisas hotel’s Sunset Bar.

Two-hour tour

  • Watch the cliff divers at La Quebrada

    Plazoleta de la Quebrada, Old Acapulco

  • Check out Zócalo, the main square, and Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Church

    Old Acapulco

  • Take a cruise along the bay

    Playa Tlacopanocha, Playa Manzanillo

Hotels

  • Hotel Boca Chica

    Punta Caletilla, Fraccionamiento las Playas

    + 49 30 884 940 040

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  • Fairmont Pierre Marqués

    Playa Revolcadero, Colonia Granjas del Marques

    + 52 744 435 2600

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  • Banyan Tree Cabo Marques

    Blvd. Cabo Marqués, Lote 1 Col. Punta Diamante

    + 52 744 434 0100

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Dining

  • Any branch of 100% Natural

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  • La Cabaña de Caleta

    Playa Caleta (east)

    + 52 744 469 8553

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  • Los Flamingos Hotel

    Avenida Adolfo López Mateos Between Caleta beach and La Quebrada

    + 52 744 482 0690

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  • Pierre's Café and Delicatessen

    Fairmont Pierre Marqués Playa Revolcadero

    + 52 744 435 2600

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  • El Cano Diamante

    Avenida Costera Miguel Aleman 75

    + 52 744 435 1500

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  • Playa Pie de la Cuesta — Head north out of Acapulco for 10km on the Carretera Federal 200

  • Sunset Bar at Las Brisas

    5255 Avenida Escénica

    + 52 744 469 6900

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  • Restaurant Beto Godoy

    Carretera Acapulco-Pinotepa, km32

    + 52 744 444 6101

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  • Becco al Mare

    14 Avenida Escénica

    + 52 744 446 7402

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  • Pampano

    Carretera Escenica 33 Bis Playa Guitarron

    + 52 744 433 3058

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  • El Baikal

    Avenida Escénica 22

    + 52 744 446 6845

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  • Baby-O

    Avenida Costera Miguel Aleman 22

    + 52 744 484 7474

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Reading

  • International newspapers — You can buy international newspapers and magazines at any branch of the Sanborns store.

    Acapulco

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Shopping

  • Puerto Marqués — You can buy fresh fish from the seafood market at Puerto Marqués

    Puerto Marqués

  • La Isla Shopping Village

    18 Boulevard de las Naciones

  • Crafts from the central market

    Mercado Central, Zona Tradicional

  • Guayabera shirts and espadrilles from Emil Plaza Bahia

    Costera Miguel Alemán

  • B & B Jewelry — A large store and factory

    Papagayo Park, Avenida Costera Miguel German

Basics

  • Pharmacy — Pharmacy at any branch of Sanborns.

    Acapulco

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Alternative diversion

  • Acapulco Scuba — Enroll on a scuba-diving course with Acapulco Scuba

    Paseo del Pescador 13 y 14 Centro

    + 52 744 482 9474

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Transport

  • Taxis — Taxis are cheap and safe, but make sure to call ahead for one.

Limousine/car

  • — Most hotels and fine restaurants have taxi ranks; if not, they will call a cab for you. If you are staying at a private home or villa, call the nearest hotel and they will send a taxi to wherever you are.

Fitness

  • Hotel gym — Stick with the hotel gym, as there are not very many local ones.

    Old Acapulco

  • Go for a run — Head east from the Fairmont Pierre Marqués along the beach into the newly developed Diamante zone.

    Fairmont Pierre Marqués

Monocle 24

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